Spray Dryer

Spray drying is a continuous industrial process where fluid is converted into fine droplets and exposed to hot drying media to produce dry particulate matter. This method is used in various industries to transform solutions, emulsions, or pumpable suspensions into dry powder or granules. Spray dryers are mainly designed for drying solutions and slurries into powders, and they come in different types depending on the end product requirement.

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Types of Spray Dryers

Several designs are available, such as rotary atomizers, pressure nozzle towers, or two-fluid nozzle spray dryers. As a leading spray dryer manufacturer, Acmefil offers a range of spray dryers with water evaporation capacities from 1 kg/hr to 14,000 kg/hr, suitable for both small-scale and large-scale applications. With our extensive experience, we provide spray dryer machines for heat-sensitive products like enzymes, blood, and flavors, as well as for regular products such as plant and animal extracts, milk, food, pharmaceuticals, dyes, chemicals, detergents, catalysts, ceramics, inorganic salts, glass, and metals.

Pilot Plant Facilities

Acmefil Engineering Systems offers pilot plant facilities for conducting trials, allowing users to test new procedures for drying and develop customized solutions. These facilities are available at nominal charges to end-users and research institutes, making us one of the most accessible spray dryer suppliers for industrial needs.

Atomization in Spray Drying


Atomization is crucial in the spray drying process. It converts liquid feed into fine droplets to facilitate efficient drying. Nozzle atomization involves pumping the liquid through a small orifice under high pressure, resulting in coarse droplets. This method is often used for producing large granular particles like powders, granules, or flakes. Rotary disc atomization, on the other hand, uses a high-speed perforated disc to create fine droplets, resulting in finer powder particles, ideal for products like milk powder, whey protein, and coffee powder.

Hot Air Mixing in Spray Drying

Hot air mixing is vital for effective drying in spray dryers. It involves heating air to a specific temperature and mixing it with spray droplets. This process can be co-current, counter-current, or mixed flow, depending on the drying requirements. Co-current flow is used for shorter drying times, while counter-current flow is preferred for heat-sensitive products requiring gentle drying. Mixed flow balances drying time and product quality.

Acmefil, as a top spray dryer manufacturer in India, provides both indirect and direct hot air generators. Indirect hot air generators use a heat exchanger to heat the air, while direct hot air generators use a burner for direct heating. The choice depends on the characteristics of the feed fluid and dried product.

Powder Separation and Handling

After spray drying, the dried powder is discharged continuously through a rotary valve at the bottom of the drying chamber. The air with fine particles is filtered through a cyclone separator or bag filter to recover fines. This step is crucial to ensure clean air exhaust and prevent environmental or health risks. In industrial spray dryer setups, special systems are used to cool and pneumatically convey the powder to storage silos or other processing stages.

Acmefil provides not only industrial spray dryer machines but also spray dryer services and spare parts, ensuring customer satisfaction and sustainability. Our company sustainability efforts include ensuring that spray drying is environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.

Why Spray Drying Matters

Spray drying is a versatile method that offers defined end-product characteristics in terms of particle size, moisture content, bulk density, and particle shape. This flexibility makes spray drying ideal for various industries, from food and pharmaceuticals to chemicals and ceramics. With a reliable spray dryer machine, companies can produce high-quality products consistently, reinforcing the value of spray drying as a core industrial process.

Applications

General FAQ

A spray dryer is used for turning liquid or slurry into dry powder. It’s like when you spray a mist into the air and it dries quickly. This is used a lot in making milk powder, coffee, and other food products, as well as in pharmaceuticals and industrial products.

The basic principle of a spray dryer is pretty simple: you spray the liquid into a hot, dry air stream. As the liquid droplets meet the hot air, they quickly dry out and turn into powder. It’s like when you spray water into the air on a sunny day, and it evaporates quickly. In a spray dryer, this happens super fast, turning the liquid into a dry powder in just a few seconds.

In the pharmaceutical industry, spray drying is a method used to make powders from liquid drug solutions or suspensions. It’s useful because it can create very fine, uniform particles, which is important for consistency in medicines. This method helps in improving the solubility and absorption of drugs in the body, and it’s also used to create powders for inhalers, tablets, and capsules. It’s a fast, efficient way to turn liquid medication formulations into a more convenient and stable powder form.

In spray dryers, hot air or gas is typically used. The most common gas is just regular air. But sometimes, other gases like nitrogen are used, especially when drying materials that are sensitive to oxygen or might be flammable. Nitrogen provides a safe, inert environment to prevent any reactions or fires. The choice of gas depends on what’s being dried and the specific needs of the process.

  1. Spray dryers are used in various industries. Here are some key ones:

    1. Food Industry: For making milk powder, coffee, tea, spices, flavors, and additives.
    2. Pharmaceuticals: To create fine powders for tablets, capsules, and inhalable drugs.
    3. Chemicals: In manufacturing dyes, pigments, and other chemical powders.
    4. Ceramics and Materials: For producing fine, uniform ceramic powders.
    5. Environmental: To manage waste and recycle materials.

They’re popular because they can quickly turn liquids into dry powders, which is handy in making a wide range of products.